Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver Condemns Paris Attacks

January 9, 2015 (Vancouver, BC) – Following Wednesday’s tragic attack on the Charlie Hebdo magazine, a gunman took hostages at a Jewish kosher supermarket in Paris today, killing four. Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver and our advocacy partner, The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), condemn the attacks on civic institutions and Jewish targets in the strongest possible terms. Our thoughts and prayers are in Paris this Shabbat.

“These acts of terror represent not only an attack on the people of France or the targeting of the French Jewish community; they constitute an assault on fundamental western and democratic values, as illustrated by the attack on Charlie Hebdo,” Shimon Koffler Fogel, CEO of CIJA, said in a statement today. “That said, we are acutely aware that today the hostage crisis unfolded in part in a Jewish neighborhood at a Jewish business.”

Although there is no increased threat to our communal institutions here in Vancouver, Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver and CIJA, are continuing to monitor the situation with our local and foreign law enforcement partners, and will update Jewish community leaders as necessary.